Chief Engineer Tony Roma, the DeRonne family and strong culture inspired future generations at GM — here’s how ...
Alessandro Roma, performance development engineer, started his career with General Motors in June 2022, but his relationship with GM began the day he was born and set up a budding generational intrigue with the company.
That’s because Alessandro’s father, Tony Roma, has been with GM for nearly 30 years and currently serves as the chief engineer for the Cadillac CELESTIQ. He began his career with GM in October 1993 as a transmission calibrator.
Growing up, Alessandro remembers a flood of “General Motors’ shop talk” in his daily childhood life. This “shop talk” would go as far as family members speaking in well-known GM company jargon. This didn’t mean much to young Alessandro, but it left an imprint stamped with curiosity.
It wasn’t just GM speak that stoked interest in GM for Alessandro, though. Tony made it a habit to include Alessandro at racing events, which only fueled his interest.
“As early as I can remember, my weekends were spent at the racetrack with my dad and cousin,” said Alessandro. “Moments like those really piqued my interest in the company, just being part of the family.”
“Being part of the family,” as Alessandro said, is something his father Tony holds dearly as well. With admiration for GM’s culture and its future, Tony felt inspired to keep his family in the GM family.
“The way I’ve thought about it over the years is that there is a culture to a company this big, and I like the fact there’s a culture that I want to pass onto my kids,” said Tony. “It’s like a big family, and extension of my family. I like that, I want to keep that going, it’s an important part of what we do.”
In all, Alessandro is grateful for the GM culture, as it left a mark on him from the very beginning.
“GM is a part of my family’s DNA,” said Alessandro. “It’s what inspired me to join the company, I’ve always known I wanted to work here.”
